The City of Auburn, Washington, plans to vote in a new ordinance that will arbitrarily make ALL DOGS over 30 pounds "potentially dangerous." The vote is scheduled for MONDAY, 4/19/04!

The proposed ordinance goes far beyond any reasonable definition of ³ dangerous.² As examples, under the proposed 6.35.010 (2), the following would make a dog ³dangerous²:

* The owner of any dog, regardless of weight, knows or should have known that the dog endangered the safety of a domestic animal.

* The dog weighs more than thirty pounds and is found at large.

* The dog weighs over thirty pounds and it ³caused concern² for the safety of another dog or cat.

The "dangerous" designation invokes a requirement of a $250,000 bond or insurance policy. In practice, this is virtually impossible to comply with, at least at a reasonable cost. (I only know of one source, a company in Florida that insures lions, tigers, bears and elephants for the circus. It is VERY expensive). The result will be dead dogs, dogs on "death row," lawsuits, and agony for owners of dogs that pose no real threat to public safety.